Typewriting machine



TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Sent. 22, 1920 Patented Apr. 1?, I323.

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JESSE A. B. SMITH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO 'UNDERWOOD TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed September 22, 1920. Serial No. 412,013.

I all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jnssn A. B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing in Stamford, in the county of Fairfiel-d and.

State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typewriting malo chines, and more especially to the type known as the Underwood continuous fanfold billing machine.

In such machines it is usual to feed. continuous fan-folded webs with alternate in layers of carbon-paper around the platen and in front of a knife which serves to sever the typewritten portion from the remainder of the web. It fre uently becomes necessary to type an additlonal bill, and no heretofore such a bill was inserted at the front of the platen by feeding out the web a corresponding distance and inserting the bill in the rear between the web and the front of the platen. The latter was then as reversely rotated, and the web and bill drawn rearwardly. The web permitted this insertion by presenting a smooth outer surface to the various obstructions surrounding the platen. This procedure, however, is obao jectionable because the bill receives but a faint carbon impression since it lies beneath the layers of web and carbon.

This invention has for its object the provision of means to permit insertion of the as bill in front of the web and from the front side of the platen. The means employed consists'of a dire ctrix comprising a guide or blind-sheet fixed to the carbon-carrier of the ordinary continuous billing machines of o the type illustrated in the patent to Wernery and Smith, No. 1,132,055, granted March 16, 1915. This sheet lies at the bottom of the continuous pack, and thus-when fed around the platen forms the outside surface. A an bill, or pack of bills, may then be inserted between the continuous pack and the guide, or blind-sheet,'and the platen turned in the reverse direction to draw the packs from front to rear. It should be understood that,

w when the carbon-carrier is in its forward line will not be covered by the guide-sheet. In order that the forward end of the guidesheet may be prevented from dropping away from the continuous pack when said for ward end is brought behind the rear edge of the rear paper-table, the guide-sheet is provided at its forward end with a band to pass around the continuous pack. This band also serves as a'holder for the bottom ends of the downwardly-inserted bills. It should be noted that, when the carbon-carrier is pushed back to retract thecarbonsheets to a new position, the guide is retracted to uncover the portion of the web on which typing is next to be efiected.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a continuous billing machine, only the frame, platen, and associated parts being shown, the blind-sheet being in position beneath the continuous pack. 1

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with parts of the frame broken away, the blind-sheet being shown in front of the platen, the additional pack having been inserted between the webs and the blind-sheet.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2' with still other parts broken away, and showing the webs, blind-sheet, and additional bills of Figure 2 drawn back to the typing position.

F igure 4 is a detail of the blind-sheet and the holding means therefor.

In the Underwood fan-fold continuous billing machine, a frame forms an extension of the usual typewriter-carriage 11, which is provided with an apron 12 and ordinary pressure rolls 13 and 14. Webs 15 are led over rear guides 16 and rear paper-table 17, beneath the-platen 20 journaled in the end-walls of the carriage, past the printing point at the type 21 and beneath the knife 22. It should be noted that the lower portion of the rear paper-table serves as a paper-apron under the platen.

Running upon rails on the frame 10 is the usual slide-member 31 of the Underwood fan-fold billing machine. Carbonsheets 32 are clipped to the bars 33 of the slide-member, and alternate with the layers of web. When a bill has been typed, the lower end thereof is drawn up just above the edge of knife 22, the feed-rolls thrown oil? (by mechanism not shown), and the 1 finger-piece 35 attached to the slide or carhon-carrier 31 is pushed rearwardly, thus drawing back the sheets of carbon below the knife.

Instead of the usual carbon-sheet, there is shown attached to the lowest bar 33 on the slide 31 a guide or blind-sheet 40 of paper or other suitable material terminating in a band 41 adapted to encircle all the layers of carbon and web, and serving to prevent the leading edge of the guide-sheet from dropping back of the rear paper-table 17 when the slide 31 is moved to the rear, as shown in Figure 1. From Figure 4 it will be seen that the rear of sheet 40 presents a continuous, smooth surface which can be freely drawn around the platenforwardly or rearwardly without interfering with the obstructions around the platen. The rear of sheet 40 forms the outermost surface when the pack is drawn past the printing point. The guide or blind-sheet 40 is clipped to the bar 33 by the usual Ushaped clip 50 pivoted at 51.

It will now be apparent from Figure 2 that band 41 having been placed a distance in the rear of the front edge of webs 15 and carbons 32, equal to the length of the additional bills to be typed, the entire pack 1s rotated around the laten until the band 41 is above the kni e-edge 22. The additional bills 45 are then inserted between the front of the web and carbon-sheet pack and the rear of sheet 40, and the entire pack is then reversely drawn to the Figure 3 position ready for typing.

When the typing is completed and the work advanced to the position shown inFigure 2, the short additional bills are removed, the platen is thrown up in the usual manner,

.the carbon-carrier or slide 31 is moved to the rear to withdraw the carbon-sheets back of the knife 22, the forward ends of the webs 15 are gaged, the platen returned to its normal position, and the used forward ends of the webs are severed over the knife. When the carbon-carrier is thus moved to the rear, the ide 40 is retracted to uncover the next section of the web on which typing is to be effected. The Webs and, carbonsheets must then be advanced to the Figure 2 position by rotating the platen, the additional bills and carbons placed in position and the operation repeated.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the im rovements may be used without others.

' aving thus described my invention, I claim: I

1. A ty ewriter, a platen, type for printing on a p urality of webs on one side of the platen, a carbon sheet back of the first web, a slide to which the carbon sheet is attached, Said slide also having attached thereto a bottom end first, at the front of the platen and guided downwardly between the forward edge of the paper-table and the platen and rearwardly over the paper-table, said front-insertion directrix comprising a permanent flexible guide, movable over said paper-table and between the latter and the platen, and a reciprocable carrier to which the rear end of the guide is attached, the limits of movement of the carrier and the length of the guide being such that, while the forward end of the guide may be advanced at the front of the platen sufficiently to receive, between the same and the platen, the bottom end of the work-sheet, the guide may also be retracted to withdraw its forward end to uncover the printing line and thereby avoid interference with typing on the inserted work-sheet, said guide being provided at its forward end with a band extending from edge to edge across its rear end first, at the front of the platen and guide said work-sheet downwardly between the forward edge of the paper-apron and the platen and rearwardly over the paperapron, said front-insertion directrix comprising a permanent flexible guide, movable over said paper-apron and between the latter and the platen, and a reciprocable carrier to which the rear end of the guide is permanently attached, the limits of movement of the carrier and the length of the guide being such.- that, while the guide is movable to permit the forward end thereof to be advanced at the front of the platen sufliciently to receive, between the same and the platen, the bottom end of the work-sheet, the guide is also retractible to withdraw its forward end to uncover the printing line and thereby to be inserted between the band and the guide. preparatory to passing the work-sheet around the platen, said band being connected with said work-sheet at the edges of the.

latter and forming with the forward end of the guide a loop into which the bottom end of the work-sheet is inserted.

4. In a front-strike typewriting machine of the fan-fold type, in combination, a platen, a rear paper-table extending around the bottom of the platen, releasable feed rolls to cooperate with the platen, a platencarriage having a rearwardly-extending frame over which superposed webs may be led to the platen, a reciprocable carrier on said frame to hold the rear ends of carbon sheets interleaved between the webs, and a front-insertion .directrix to introduce, bot tom end first, at the front of the platen, a work-sheet and a carbon-sheet in superposed relation with respect to the forward ends of said webs, said directrix comprising a permanent flexible guide attached at its rear end to said carrier beneath the bottom web and having a narrow. band extending across its rear face at its forward end and attached to the guide, so that the end of. the work-sheet may be inserted between the band andthe rear face of the guide, the guide being of such length that, when the webs and carbon-sheets interleaved therebetween are advanced above the printing line to enable said work-sheet and associated carbon-sheet to be superposed on the forward ends of said webs, the forward end of the guide will extend just enough above the printing line to receive the bottom ends of the work-sheet and associated carbon sheet, between said band and said guide. so that the webs and work-sheet may be fed rearwardly by the platen and the feedrolls between the paper-table and the platen until the inserted work-sheet has been brought to the initial writing position, the writing line being uncovered by the guide, during the early part of the rearward feeding movement of the platen, to prevent the guide from interfering with typing on the front-inserted work-sheet.

5. In atypewriting machine of the fanfold type, in combination, a rotatable platen, a rear paper-apron extending around the bottom of the platen, a reciprocable carboncarrier at the rear of the paper-apron, said carbon-carrier having holders to which are attached the rear ends of carbon-sheets interleaved between webs passing on opposite therewith td be placed over the exposed portion of the outside web, the flexible guide will be advanced to the platen and around the bottom of the latter, so that its forward end will extend above the printing line suificiently to permit the bottom ends of the work-sheet and associated carbon-sheet to be inserted between the same and the outside web and, upon feeding the webs and interleaved carbon-sheets rearwardly around the platen and moving the carbon-carrier rearwardly, the bottom ends of the worksheet and the associated carbon-sheet will be guided to the rear of the forward edge of the rear paper-apron to permit the worksheet and associated carbon-sheet to be fed rearwardly with the webs, the flexible guide being moved rearwardly around the platen to uncover the printing line.

6. In a typewriting machine of the fanfold type, in combination, a rotatable platen, a rear paper-apron extending around the bottom of the platen, a reciprocable. carboncarrier at the rear of the paper-apron, said carbon-carrier having holders to which are attached the rear ends of carbon-sheets interleaved between webs passing on opposite sides of each of said holders and between said rear paper-apron and the platen, and a front-insertion directrix comprising a flexible guide connected with said carbon-carrier and extending forwardly therefrom whereby, upon advancing the webs and the carbonsheets interleaved therebetween around the platen past the printing line to permit a work-sheet and a carbon-sheet associated therewith to be placed over the exposed portion of the outside web, the flexible guide will be advanced to the platen and around the bottom of the latter, so that its forward end will extend above the printing line sufficiently to permit the bottom ends of the worksheet and associated carbon-sheet to be inserted between the same and the outside web and, upon feeding the webs and interleaved carbon-sheets rearwardly around the platen and moving the carbon-carrier rearwardly, the bottom ends of the worksheet and the associated carbon-sheet will be guided to the rear of the forward edge of the rear paper-apron to permit the worksheet and associated carbon-sheet to be fed rearwardly with the webs, the flexible uide being moved rearwardly around the p aten and away therefrom; said flexible guide being provided at its forward end with a band extending across the rear face thereof and connected to the ed es thereof to form a loop through which said webs pass, said loop serving to maintain the guide in proper relation with said webs while permitting the latter to travel therethrough.

7. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a rotatable platen around which a continuous web may be fed, a paperapron extending around the bottom of the platen, and a. front-insertion ,directrix to conduct a work-sheet introduced, outside of said web, downwardly, bottom edge first, at the delivery side of the platen and guide said work-sheet between the forward edge of said paper-apron and the platen and rearwardly over the paper-apron, said directrix comprising a permanent flexible guide, guide being movable around the platen to 'the delivery side thereof only suflicientl to said paper-apron extending around the bottom of the platen, and a front-insertion directrix to conduct a work-sheet introduced downwardly, bottom first, at the delivery side ofthe platen and guide said work-sheet down between the forward edge of the paperapron and the platen and rearwardly over, the paper-apron, said directrix comprlsing a permanent flexible guide and a reciproeable carrier having a limited stroke at the rear of the platen to which the guide is permanently attached, said guide being movable around the platen to. the delivery side thereof to receive the bottom end of the worksheet bet-ween the forward end of the guide and the platen, and being retractible to withdraw the forward end of the guide sheet rearwardly around the platen preparatory to typing on said work-sheet.

' JESSE A. B." SMITH.

Witnesses:

EDITH B. LIBBEY, CATHERINE A. NnwnLL. 

